I'm coming to see you in a couple weeks and pick up my flies to feed to the trees over spring break. But I got thinking... Have you considered offering a spring fly assortment in a nifty little container? I love those little containers I used to get from there. I still use the ones my boys haven't taken and tore up.

I'm in no way trying to be a know-it-all or tell you how to run a business, but I was just thinking it would be neat to have a set of the best flies all ready to go. I did search through the online catalog and didn't find anything because I was thinking there used to be one offered.

I'm sorry I did not see this thread until now. As NDuncan said, we used to offer Smokies fly selections for sale. It was difficult to pick exactly what was working well during the Spring because of the short lived and seasonal changes in aquatic insect activity. The Summer, Fall and Winter were easier. We have set up new seasonal fly categories in the online store and that is an ongoing process. I started working on an online fly picker by the month. I can't seem to nail it down. There are many if's, ands and buts that are water temperature related.

Picking flies during the Spring is almost a daily or at least weekly decision that is often made based on the elevation the angler will be fishing at the time. Quill Gordons may be hatching higher up in the mountains but the hatch may be over at Metcalf Bottoms.

Daniel and Bill are planning a fly selection picker in the shop, something everyone who visits our fly department could read. I almost always mention the patterns we recommend on the daily fishing report. I think Daniel plans to put fly selections together to sell. I believe that would be a good way to sell flies, but I wonder if we would really be offering the best solutions for customers. For instance, a Spring selection changes from early, mid and late as we transition into Summer. What worked in March may not apply in April. Last year, Spring hatches were on the water in the first week of February. This year they are a month later.

We will keep on mulling this over. We can certainly assemble selections for the Summer, Fall and Winter. I'm sure Daniel will see this and we'll see what he thinks. We have talked about this a lot lately. I will keep trying to define and narrow selections on the website. Thank you very much for your suggestion. We just don't want to sell someone a fly that is not right for the current conditions or where they plan to fish that day. Nymphs would be easy. Dries in the Spring...not so easy.

Please give me a call and I can help you with the bass flies. I would need to know where you will be fishing and maybe I can help. We are in the process of remodeling our fly department and changing our selection by narrowing it down to the most effective flies. There are a lot of new bass flies out there but I have not had the opportunity to try them. I hope to start next week.

Please call me and we will discuss fly fishing for bass, a subject I love to talk about.

yeah NDuncan, I thought something like that was offered at one time. but I looked on the online catalog and couldn't find it.

I was thinking of QG wet & dry, BHPT, Para Adams, and maybe ElkH Caddis.......I'm no professional but it seems like most folks use the same "go to" flies (oh and a bottle of frog's fanny! I always need a new bottle of frog's fanny each spring.)

I do appreciate your reading and reply Byron, I know you're very busy.